Listening Quietly to the Night Moon
Bird on Branch
Wall Scroll

Listening Quietly to the Night Moon

Jìng Tīng Yè Yuè

This title indicates that this bird, alighted on a branch, is listening quietly to the moon at night. Since the moon does not make noise, this title, with some poetic license, celebrates the absolute peaceful serenity that this bird has found.

This is by Huang Xin-An, but in this case, he has used his art name, 興安 or Xing-An to sign the work. We sorted through the deepest corners of his studio last time I was in Chengdu and found some older artwork that had never seen the light of day, nor been mounted. The date on this one is 1995 - as it's from some of the artist's earlier work that was forgotten about in a box in the back of his studio. The raw artwork has just been mounted as a brand-new wall scroll at my workshop in Beijing.

The paper used is handmade as well. You may see some fibers, husks, and other artifacts embedded in the paper. This is a testament to the handmade nature of the paper.

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This work was done in Chengdu by Huang Xin'an (Pronounced a little bit like "who-ong shin un") from the Sichuan (Szechwan) Province of China.

After I bought this work in Chengdu, I later returned to Beijing and had it mounted as a traditional hand-made silk scroll in our workshop. This makes a nice, ready-to-hang piece of wonderful hand-painted art.

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The story behind how I found this art...

I lost track of Huang Xin'an after my last trip to Chengdu. His phone number was out of order, and I was disappointed that I could not contact him to get more of his paintings.

I make the decision to go to Chengdu on my new art-buying trip mostly because of him.

After 15 hours on a slow train, I arrive in Chengdu. I check-in at Sam's Guesthouse (a hangout for backpackers from around the world, and a hostel with reasonably-priced beds). After a much-needed shower, I head out to find Huang Xin'an.

Taxis drive at the speed-of-light in Chengdu (the city boasts over 1000 fatal auto accidents per year), I arrive in no-time at the place I last found Mr. Huang. Sure enough, as I walk down the alley toward his gallery, he sees me and runs out to greet me. I'm really happy to see him, and the feeling is mutual.

I tell him how I came to Chengdu just to buy art from him (after not being able to reach him on the phone). He is so honored that I think he wants to hug me. He offers me a chair, and says he's painted a lot of work over that last 9 months with both me and my customers in mind. I was also honored by this gesture. He shows me a lot of new work in styles that I like.

I spend 2 days with Mr. Huang and we talk about a lot of new ideas and artwork that I think my western customers will like. He offers to close his gallery for a few days, and paint the art that I asked for. So I took a few days to meet and visit other artists in Chengdu. When I return to Mr. Huang's gallery, I am not disappointed. He did such a great job, words can't describe.